GOGGLEBOX star Sandi Bogle has broken her silence on her co-star Sandra Martin being “broke and living off benefits.”
It’s been seven years since 62-year-old Sandra left the hit Channel 4 show and in that time, despite her apparent continued fandom, her fortunes have drastically changed.
The grandmother-of-five has gone from having “everything paid for” by Gogglebox to being jobless, living in temporary accommodation and flogging merchandise to pay for food.
But she’s still enjoying lavish holidays – much to the annoyance of online trolls.
Ibiza, Amsterdam and Portugal are among the free trips she has been “gifted” by fans, who, she says, are happy to pay for her company.
And now Sandi Bogle, who is best pals with Sandra, and famously appeared on the Gogglebox sofa with her, addressed her friend’s change in circumstances and fans ‘funding her trips.’
Attending the British Restaurant Awards, Sandi said: “Please, let me tell you something, Sandra has fans galore from all over the world.
“They send her presents, they send her gifts and she just accepts them.
“When I left Gogglebox, she left not long after me, but I was already doing stuff. So she’s now catching up. She didn’t really have anything, so now I’m bringing her along with me.
“She was at a charity football match the other day taking selfies with fans, not charging any money. She does things for free and doesn’t ask for money for it. She just loves her fans and they love her back.”
Sandra recently spoke to The Sun as part of our new series Money Talks.
She told us: “I’ve been on five holidays since Christmas Day and I’m going to Malta too, it’s all because of Gogglebox.
“I’ve been to Amsterdam, Portugal, Benidorm and lots of other places. Soon I’m going to Skegness. People love me and I give them entertainment so they pay for my trips.
“It’s because I’ve got such a large platform, I’m on social media every day and talk to my fans. People are bored and I cheer them up.
“I get a lot of hate for it because I’m always on planes but people gift these trips to me. It’s a miracle really, they must have spent thousands of pounds on me.”
But Sandra could be back working in no time, as Sandi hinted that they’ve got a big project coming up.
Sandi continued: “Let me tell you, we have a big secret coming up. We’re going to be doing a TV show together.
“We can’t tell you anything else but watch this space, it’s going to be amazing.”
Sandi praised her co-stars who’ve gone on to have successful podcasts and shows, but admitted Gogglebox “isn’t the same.”
The TV favourite said she believes the original Gogglebox stars were what made the show what it was, and called for a shake-up.
